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Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983 in Woodland, California) is a Major League Baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, who also played college baseball at Arizona State University. He is listed by Major League Baseball and the Boston Red Sox at 5'9" (175 cm) and 180 pounds, although a 2003 USA Today article gives his height as 5'7" (170 cm).

Early baseball career

High school and college

Pedroia attended Woodland High School in , where he graduated with honors. Pedroia batted .445 his senior year, and was chosen his league's most valuable player. Pedroia was also quarterback for the team's freshman football team when Lance Briggs, now a linebacker with the Chicago Bears, broke Pedroia's ankle during a game.

Pedroia then went to Arizona State University, where he was teammates with middle infielder Ian Kinsler. Kinsler and Pedroia battled for the shortstop position; ultimately, Pedroia stayed at shortstop, while Kinsler ended up at second base before transferring to the University of Missouri. In three years at ASU, Pedroia never hit below .347, and had a career average of .384, starting all 185 games. Furthermore, to help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship.

Minors

Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, with the 65th pick overall. Pedroia, the eighth shortstop drafted, received a $575,000 signing bonus.

In two years in the minors (2004-06), Pedroia batted .308 while playing second base and shortstop.

Major Leagues

2006 season

Pedroia collected his first Major League hit in his first game in the majors, on August 22, 2006, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Pedroia earned his first major league home run on September 9, 2006, against Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hudson. He wore number 64 in 2006; at the start of the 2007 season he switched to his current number, 15.

2007 season

Pedroia became the regular second baseman for the Sox in 2007. His defense in 2007 was solid, with six errors and a fielding percentage of .990. Early in the season, though, his batting average was as low as .172 (on May 1); that average, combined with the hitting of teammate Alex Cora, whose 2007 average was above .400 at one point, left Pedroia in a platoon role. Pedroia's batting improved quickly, however: by June 18, his average was .322, aided by a 13-game hitting streak, and a five-hit game against the San Francisco Giants on June 15, 2007. Because of that production, he was named American League Player of the Week for May 28–June 3, 2007, and AL Rookie of the Month for May 2007. His most notable play of the season, though, may have been a diving stop in the seventh inning of fellow rookie Clay Buchholz's September 1, 2007 no-hitter.

Pedroia was selected to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. The selection was the result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers.

He also led the Red Sox to the American League pennant in 2007 with a 5 RBI performance in Game 7 versus the Cleveland Indians, delivering the Sox to their second World Series appearance in four years. On Wednesday, October 24, 2007, Dustin Pedroia made history in game one of the 2007 World Series championship against the Colorado Rockies by becoming only the second player (and the first rookie) to lead off the Series with a home run, sending Jeff Francis' second offering over the Green Monster in left. The only other player to lead off a World Series with a home run was Baltimore's Don Buford against Tom Seaver and the 1969 New York Mets.

2007 Playoffs

Dustin Pedroia entered the 2007 American League Divisional Series batting .317 with 8 home runs and 50 RBI in 139 regular season games with the Red Sox. In the ALDS, Pedroia struggled, getting only 2 hits in 3 games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Though Pedroia struggled in the lead-off spot for the Red Sox, Boston cruised past the Angels 3 games to 0 to advance to the American League Championship Series, where they met the Cleveland Indians.

In the ALCS, Pedroia heated up, batting .345. In the 7th game, Pedroia hit a 2-run homer into the Green Monster seats in the 7th inning and had 5 RBI. He then hit a 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th to help the Red Sox secure the series and a spot in the World Series.

Entering the 2007 World Series against the Colorado Rockies, Dustin Pedroia was one of two rookies starting (with center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury) for the American League champion Red Sox. These two rookies jump started the Red Sox offense. Pedroia only saw one pitch in his first World Series at-bat before he took Rockie ace Jeff Francis' pitch over the Green Monster. After winning the first two games of the World Series, the Red Sox entered Game 3 making history by having two rookies bat first and second in the line-up. Ellsbury and Pedroia combined for 7 hits, 3 runs, and drove in 4 more to help the Sox take the first 3 games of the Series. The Red Sox won Game 4 and swept the Colorado Rockies to win their seventh World Series title. Dustin Pedroia hit .278 with 5 hits, 1 home run with 4 runs batted in in the series.

On November 12, 2007, Dustin Pedroia was named the AL Rookie of the Year.

Wrist injury

On November 10, 2007, the Boston Herald reported that Pedroia had played the final two months of the 2007 season with a cracked hamate bone in his left hand. Pedroia told the newspaper that he knew that an MRI and bone scan on Sept. 10 revealed the break, but did not know how it happened. He had surgery on the hand on Nov. 6 and virtually no one outside the Red Sox organization had prior knowledge of the injury.

2008 season

During the 2008 season, Red Sox manager Terry Francona noted that Pedroia, like Mike Lowell and Alex Cora, were willing to play catcher in emergencies.

Pedroia ended the season with a .326 average with 17 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. He led MLB in hits (213) and doubles (54), while leading the AL in runs scored (118), making him the first player to lead all three of those categories in the same season since Cal Ripken in 1983. Pedroia came in second in the AL in batting average (.326) behind Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer (.328), fourth in the AL in total bases (322), and seventh in the AL in extra-base hits (73). His 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts helped Pedroia lead MLB in stolen base percentage (.952). With only 6 errors in 773 plays at second base, Pedroia was second in the AL in fielding percentage by a second baseman (.992), behind Mark Ellis (.993, OAK), who had almost 200 fewer total chances. Pedroia is considered a candidate not only for a 2008 Golden Glove, but also for 2008 AL MVP.

2008 Playoffs

Pedroia was hitless through the first three games of the 2008 ALDS. His sole hit was an RBI double that drove in Jason Varitek in the 5th inning of game 4. He batted 2nd in all 4 games, behind Jacoby Ellsbury. Pedroia made one of the best defensive plays of the series with a diving throw to first base to retire Vladimir Guerrero in the third inning of game 4.

Statistics

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG
2006	BOS	31	89	5	17	4	0	2	7	0	7	7	.191	.258	.303
2007	BOS	139	520	86	165	39	1	8	50	7	47	42	.317	.380	.442
2008	BOS	157	653	118	213	54	2	17	83	20	50	52	.326	.376	.493
Total	3 years	327	1,262	209	395	97	3	27	140	27	104	101	.313	.369	.459

Awards and Distinctions

2004 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
2004 First-Team Baseball America and USA Today All-American
2003 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year
2003 Pac-10 Player of Forever
2003 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year
Red Sox ML Base Runner of the Month (April 2005)
Red Sox Minor League "Quality Plate Appearances" Award (June 2005)
2005 Post-Season Eastern League All-Star
2005 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
2005 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 - No. 45
2006 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 - No. 23
2007 American League Rookie of the Month-May
2007 American League Player of the Week (May 28–June 3)
2007 Players Choice American League Outstanding Rookie
2007 World Series Champion (Boston Red Sox)
2007 American League Rookie of the Year
2008 Voted into his first All-Star game

Personal life

Pedroia married Kelli Hatley on November 11, 2006. Hatley, a 2005 Arizona State University graduate, is also a melanoma survivor, and advocates for safe sun care with the awareness program "Play Smart When It Comes To The Sun."

Pedroia is the nephew of Detroit Lions linebacker coach Phil Snow.

Pedroia has recently endorsed a brand of salsa under the name of "Pedroia's" including: Black bean, mild, spicy, and 'muy caliente'.